


fire n gold

by shymoon



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Backstory, F/F, Headcanon, Pre-Canon, and i made penelope a big sister bc i bet she would be sweetest big sister in the world, mg entered the school before penelope, oh yeah they swear btw, this is just my, we also get a glimpse of her parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-17 13:50:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16975779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shymoon/pseuds/shymoon
Summary: “So you think I'm hot, huh?” Penelope felt the corner of her lips tug up just a little.“I-" Josie started, but never finished her sentence. Instead, she opened and closed her mouth several times until she settled on looking down and attempted at hiding her rosy cheeks.Penelope put her hand gently on the girl's shoulder, not wanting her action to come off as predatorial or anything other than comforting. “You know, I wouldn't be opposed to it if your answer happened to be yes,” she said with a smile and winked when Josie looked back up.orThe backstory of Penelope Park and the beginnings of Josie & Penelope's relationship.





	1. so you think i'm hot, huh?

**Author's Note:**

> aye this is my first posie fic and i didn't get it proofread by someone so pls bear with me ksjdksj anyways hope you liked it!

Preppy. That was the best way Penelope could describe the sight in front of her. Preppy and bubbly would be a better way to describe the two young girls smiling before her.

 

Today was the day of Penelope Park’s arrival at the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted. She was already 15 years old which was considered old for a witch to enroll since most witches aware of the school would enroll their child as soon as they showed any powers at all. If it weren’t for her father’s days becoming filled with whatever the hell he was plotting with his coven, Penelope would’ve probably never even stepped foot on school grounds.

 

Her father was busy and her step-mother was human. As much as the woman loved her and cared for her, learning to control her magical powers wasn’t exactly something she could help Penelope with. So, here they were, her, her father, her step-mother and her clingy young half-sister.

 

Penelope heard the headmaster of the school give last pieces of information regarding her stay at the school and the school itself to her father, but like him, she was quite uninterested in his words. Though it was for a very different reason. She knew her existence was more of a burden on her father’s life than a gift and sending her to boarding school was a relief to him. He would most likely send her younger sister here too if she had shown any sign of possessing magic. She knew that her father was simply looking forward to the headmaster (Mr. Saltzman if she remembered correctly) talking so he could head back home.

 

On Penelope’s side, her lack of attention directed towards Mr. Saltzman was explained by the two girls she would describe as preppy and bubbly. Well, one of the two girls was who captured Penelope’s attention.

 

She learned the headmaster was actually her father and the blonde next to her was her twin sister. The girl must’ve been around her age, judging by the way she behaved. Although she did look a little younger. It could’ve been the way that the two dark brown braids were a little messy, giving the girl a more childish look or it could’ve been the way her eyes seemed to have this glimmer in them, like a glimmer of hope in good.

 

Either ways, the girl distracted her so much, Penelope almost didn’t realize that it was time to say goodbye to her family. It was her little sister tugging at the sleeve of her jacket who grabbed her attention away from the brunette. Penelope hugged her step-mother first and both exchanged ‘I love you’s before she received a soft hug from her father and a ‘see you soon sport’. She then turned towards her sister and leaned down just a little to hug her tightly.

 

“Promise me you’ll be good at home?” Penelope whispered in her sister’s ear.

 

The 11 year-old shook her head against her older sister’ neck which made Penelope pull away with a smile on her face. “Thea,” she said in a teasing tone.

 

The girl pulled Penelope was in a hug and it was her turn to whisper, “I don’t want you to leave.”

 

“I have to go,” she said and tried to hold back tears. She was not going to cry in front of strangers or her father.

 

“Why can’t I stay with you?”

 

“We’ve been over this already, Thea.” Penelope gave her an encouraging smile. “Mama is gonna need you when I’m gone and I’m gonna need you to be strong for the both of you. Take good care of her and yourself when I’m gone, okay?” She told Thea while looking her in the eye. She saw that the rest of the group had given the sisters some space so she allowed herself to feel a little more.

 

Thea nodded and her lower lip quivered. As soon as “I’m going to miss you so much” left the younger sister’s mouth, her eyes released tears that were wiped away by Penelope.

 

“I know. I’m going to miss you too, baby girl.” Penelope kissed Thea’s forehead and hugged her one last time. “If you ever need to talk to me, you know you can call me right? We can also video chat at any time.”

 

Thea nodded and gave her older sister a smile before the two headed back to the group.

Penelope waved goodbye to her family and felt her heart clench when she noticed her sister trying to keep sight of her by turning around in her seat even as the rental car started to head towards the gates.

 

“Alright well, I know this is going to be quite different from your previous life, but as I’ve said before, we will make sure you are as comfortable here as possible. Josie, here,” Mr. Saltzman said as he gestured towards the brunette who distracted Penelope earlier, “is going to give you a tour of the place and by the end, it should be supper time.”

 

And so that left Penelope alone with the brunette—Josie as the headmaster said. She really did not mind being alone with the girl. After all, she was absolutely… endearing. Everything she did and said made Penelope want to squish her cheeks and protect her from all evil in the world, which was ridiculous since she had already started to hear chatters about this Josie Saltzman from the few hours she had spent at the school. So, she knew Josie was capable of a lot more than meets the eye.

 

Still, whenever she heard that giggle leave Josie’s lips, she couldn’t help the fact that heart would skip a beat or the fact that her own lips were fighting off a smile. She knew that she was doing a good job at hiding her feelings though, unlike the cute girl showing her around the school.

 

Penelope could tell that Josie was irritated by the fact that even though she was trying her best to be enthusiastic about the tour and her perkiness would’ve probably rubbed off on literally any other person she was with Penelope was able (with difficulty she must admit) to keep a straight face on. Her mind wandering around did help her though.

 

All she could think about during the tour was Josie, even when she was walking right next to her. She kept thinking about whether her new classmate was always this perky or was it just an act for the moment. Was she just being nice or did she actually mean it when she said that she was “excited to a new witch buddy”? Was there something more to that smile of hers that made Penelope melt? Or was it just something she gave to everyone?

 

And most importantly, was it inappropriate for Penelope to think about Josie this way? The last thing Penelope would want is to make Josie uncomfortable or to destroy a relationship. She was probably in a relationship. How could she be single? She was young (Penelope learned that Josie was just a few weeks from turning 15), seemed smart, was friendly and open, and was just incredibly beautiful (even in an pretentious boarding school uniform). She-

 

“Penelope?” Shit was she staring at Josie?

 

“Huh?” Penelope asked and knew that her cheeks were slightly pink by now, even if she was fighting her blush.

 

“I said we’re done the tour.” As she looked around, Penelope realized she was back in front of her room and Josie was holding out a box filled with clothes that Penelope figured were all pieces of the uniform she’d have to wear when heading to class. “Are you okay?” She could tell Josie was genuinely worried.

 

“Perfectly fine,” she responded with a tight smile. She wasn't used to having people who cared about her. It wasn't that she didn't have friends at her old school. Quite the opposite, Penelope was a social butterfly and knew almost the whole school. However, she wouldn't consider everybody her friend. They weren't close enough to deserve that term. She only had one close friend that she trusted and cared about and who cared about her in return. And it was just a little unsettling to think that Josie would have already started to care about her in the short period of time they'd known each other.

 

She knew that Josie didn't buy her answer, but was glad to see that the other girl wouldn't push further. “Right,” she said after a beat of silence, “um, well it's supper time as my dad told you earlier. You remember where the kitchen and dining hall are?”

 

Penelope nodded and so did Josie. “Alright, I guess see you later then.”

 

She watched Josie walk away and she bit her lip, cringing at how stupid she must've looked like and sounded like just then. _Seriously, Park? Do you not know how to use more than 2 words at a time?_

 

She shook her head, sighed and went inside her room to put down the box Josie had handed her. She would put the clothes away and make her room more comfortable after supper. She was starving already.

 

Making her way down to the kitchen, Penelope realized how out of it she really was when she was with Josie earlier. She barely remembered anything she was told and had pretty much no clue as to where everything was. The only reason she knew where the kitchen was was because it was the second place they went to (the first being her room).

 

“Ah fuck. I'll have to ask her where the bathrooms are,” Penelope muttered to herself as she grabbed a plate and served herself a meal.

 

She settled on eating alone for the moment since she hadn't evaluated who seemed like decent people yet, but she had received a few invitations from some witches and even a vampire to sit with them. She politely refused and lied by saying she was waiting for someone. As she looked around the dining hall to judge people's characters, her eyes landed on a familiar brunette sitting with the cheery blonde from earlier.

 

Penelope found herself smiling for a moment before she stopped and finished her meal quickly so she could approach Josie to ask her where she could find bathrooms. She walked towards the pair calmly until she heard the conversation between the twins.

 

“I'm telling you, Lizzie. She was being so rude. Like I was trying to make the tour fun because we saw how sad her sister was when they left, but she refused to even talk to me… I feel like she hates me which is the last thing I want because I feel like she needs a friend right now you know?”

 

“That and you find her ‘really fucking hot'?” Lizzie said and chuckled.

 

 _Wait, hold up._ She knew that the girl probably thought she hated her, which was completely wrong, but given the way Penelope was acting, it was easy to assume things. She also figured out that Josie might have felt like she was lonely right now and that wasn't far from the truth. However, she absolutely did not think Josie would find her attractive. After all, she was kind of an asshole to her earlier.

 

Just as Penelope was about to interrupt the two before she heard any more than she should've, Lizzie spotted her and a look of terror passed her face before a look of irritation took over. “What do you want?” She asked harshly, most likely because she assumed Penelope actually disliked her sister and was protecting her from any pain Penelope would cause.

 

Penelope chose to ignore Lizzie for the moment. She had a way more important question to answer first. “So you think I'm hot, huh?” Penelope felt the corner of her lips tug up just a little.

 

“I-" Josie started, but never finished her sentence. Instead, she opened and closed her mouth several times until she settled on looking down and attempted at hiding her rosy cheeks.

 

Penelope put her hand gently on the girl's shoulder, not wanting her action to come off as predatorial or anything other than comforting. “You know, I wouldn't be opposed to it if your answer happened to be yes,” she said with a smile and winked when Josie looked back up.

 

“Okay, what did you want?” Lizzie asked again, irritating Penelope to the fullest.

 

“I wanted to ask Josie a question,” she said honestly.

 

Lizzie scoffed. “What? Are you gonna ask her out or something?”

 

Penelope stared at the blonde for a second, a little taken aback by the straightforwardness of the girl. Despite being a little shaken, she didn't let herself break too easily. She decided to put aside the actual question she had in mind and took on Lizzie's proposal.

 

“Would you say yes if I asked?” She looked straight into Josie's warm chocolate brown eyes.

 

Josie took a moment to regain her composure. “Are you asking me right now?” She asked, as if challenging her. Oh if she only knew Penelope better. She never backed down on a challenge.

 

Penelope licked her lips and smirked before looking around and seeing that more than a few heads had turned their way. She chuckled to herself and shook her head at the thought of what she was about to do.

 

Penelope went down on one knee. Josie's eyes grew the size of golf balls and she shifted to have her whole body facing the girl on one knee. Penelope then stared into her eyes again as she asked, “Josie Saltzman, would you give me the honour to take you out on a date?”


	2. i promise you i’m super nervous

It hadn’t even been a second after Penelope asked Josie out that the latter was desperately trying to get the other girl to stand back up.

 

“Stand up,” she whisper-yelled. “People are looking at us.”

 

“I don’t give two flying fucks.” Penelope shrugged. “They can stare all they want. All that matters to me is that my eyes are on you and that yours are on me.”

 

Josie’s lips started to curve upwards and her tint of pink on her cheeks wasn’t going to disappear any time soon. Even though she rolled her eyes at Penelope, her smile contradicted her display of annoyance. Penelope had a charming aura that Josie couldn’t seem to shake off. So, it was not really much of a surprise when she agreed to a date with Penelope.

 

The new student smiled and left after whispering in Josie’s ear, “come by my room tomorrow, 6 o’clock sharp.”

 

With that, Penelope left a flushed Josie and a shocked Lizzie. Though if her desire to make a cool exit was trumped by her desire to get to a bathroom, she would’ve ran back to ask the actual question she had in mind. That was how she found herself in the hallway (after putting away her plate and fork away of course) looking left and right for any sign of a bathroom. How hard could it be to find one anyways?

 

After walking up and down the hallway and trying to look for a sign down all connecting hallways, Penelope sighed in defeat. How was it that the bathroom was this difficult to find? Just then, a voice interrupted her thoughts.

 

“You lost, new girl?” Penelope turned around and came face to face with a grinning boy with the fluffiest hair she’d ever laid her eyes on. At her silence, the boy continued talking. “I’m MG by the way, well Milton Greasley, but nobody calls me that. I’m friends with the Saltzman twins. I saw what you pulled back in the cafeteria and gotta say that was pretty dope. I mean, considering you’re new and all.”

 

She shrugged. “I don’t care about labels; I’m just being me.”

 

“Oh, I didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s just well you seem like the unapproachable type- not in a bad way though! It’s just you seem more like the cool and mysterious type to not want to talk to people and like you know intimidate others… Not in a bully type of way just-”

 

“MG,” Penelope interrupted him with a slight smile on her face. “It’s fine. I get what you mean.”

 

She noticed him let out a small breath of relief. Despite how endearing seeing the boy ramble for a moment, she had more urgent things to deal with, namely where in the world were the goddamn bathrooms.

 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. I just meant that I didn’t expect that from a girl like you.”

 

“A girl like me?” Penelope arched her right eyebrow. “What is that? A bitch?”

 

“What? No! Not at all! I mean like-”

 

“MG, I’m just teasing you.” She chuckled and shook her head.

 

The boy nodded and looked down, slightly embarrassed. “Right… I’m really sorry if I did offend you though.”

 

“As I’ve said, it’s all good. You didn’t upset me or anything. Actually, if you wanna make it up to me, you could answer a question for me.”

 

“Sure! Anything. What is it?” His grin was back. “You need help with your date with Josie? She really into music so anything involving music would probably be a good idea.”

 

“It wasn’t related to the date, no, but thanks for the tip. I was actually wondering where I could find the bathrooms.”

 

She almost let her palm hit her face when MG told her that there were bathrooms in the hallway right down the one she had just explored.

 

It was two weeks following that their first date actually happened. Josie had showed up to Penelope’s room the following day like she had asked, but she had come an hour earlier to share some bad news. Lizzie was having a bad day and she really felt like she needed to stay in to comfort her, something about a boy rejecting her.

 

She evidently felt let down and suspected that Josie didn’t actually have to stay in with her sister and simply was not interested in Penelope. Her suspicions were thrown out of the window though when Josie asked her to hand her her phone so that she could type in her number.

 

“It’ll be easier to plan out our date this way,” she said with a grin. “I’m really sorry again.” With a kiss to Penelope’s cheek, she jogged back to her room.

 

The next date they had planned was the weekend following Penelope’s arrival at the school, but it was yet again cancelled at the last minute because she had caught a cold from Lizzie. Penelope was seriously getting annoyed at their date being cancelled again, so the day of their third attempt at a first date, she made sure to call Josie an hour before their date to make sure she was going to show up.

 

“Yes, I promise you I’m super nervous and getting ready for our date in my room right now.” Her laugh resonated on the other line. “Can you at least tell me what you prepared so I can dress appropriately?”

 

“I already told you. We’re having supper in my room and I don’t care how you dress. Wear whatever makes you comfortable,” said Penelope as she tried to not make any telling noise while carrying the tray of freshly baked red velvet cupcakes she had made up to her bedroom.

 

“Is that really all you have planned? We’re gonna bring food from the kitchen up to your room?” Either Josie was actually not disappointed in that idea or she was really good at hiding it.

 

“Look, I’m not gonna reveal anything more than that, so just bring your beautiful self to my room at 6, alright?”

 

They hung up and Penelope hurriedly went to the kitchen again to finish up the meal she had prepared for the night. She wasn’t sure whether Josie ate meat or not, so she opted for a vegan dish just in case: creamy vegan lemon asparagus pasta. She had also made a tray of vegan brownies to accompany the regular red velvet cupcakes in case Josie was actually vegan.

 

The thing is that she had tried to figure out if her date had any dietary limitations, but it was quite difficult to look normal and not suspicious at all while observing someone else eat, especially when she was currently eating lunch with Hope Mikaelson, aka the one person the Saltzman twins seriously disliked among all the witches in school.

 

“You know, your dates with Josie Saltzman might actually keep getting cancelled because she knows we eat together from time to time, right?” Hope said one lunch when she noticed a pair of eyes attempting to glare at her.

 

Penelope chuckled when her eyes landed on Josie who looked more adorable than intimidating while she was trying to give Hope the death glare. “I still don’t understand why you and the twins don’t get along. I mean I get Lizzie because we don’t have the best of relationships either, but Josie-”

 

“Okay, I’m gonna have to cut you off there before you get all mushy on me, Park. We definitely aren’t close enough for that yet.”

 

“Right.” Penelope nodded and laughed. “Anyways, we don’t even hang out outside of the dining hall. I don’t see why Josie would mind.”

 

It was true. She spent most of her time with MG because most of the witches had tried to get her to join their little covens the moment she became a student at the school. Hope had been the one of the few who didn’t want to befriend immediately. The rest of the witches at school would pop up in front of her, as if by magic (which wouldn’t really surprise Penelope if they actually had), and asking her to come join them and sit at their tables.

 

Hope had actually saved her from one of the constant demands of this particular group of witches. “She’s actually sitting with me. So, you guys can leave,” said Hope as she managed to put herself between Penelope and the group. The group of four looked at each other and rolled their eyes before leaving. Hope then distanced herself from Penelope as she spoke, “You don’t actually have to sit with me. I just figured you needed a little help back there. I noticed they kept coming at you.”

 

“Thanks, they’ve been incessant.” Penelope smiled gratefully at the girl. “Actually, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d take you up on eating with you?”

 

“Sure.”

 

“I’m Penelope by the way.”

 

“I know you’re the new girl, Penelope Park.” Hope chuckled. “I’m-”

 

“Yeah, I know who you are too: Hope Mikaelson. Quite popular around here and quite disliked by the Saltzman twins if I say so myself.”

 

“Well, I heard you’re trying to date one of them so don’t worry, I’m only offering you to eat with me this one time.”

 

Penelope shrugged. “I like to grind Lizzie’s gears and you’re not nearly as annoying as the witches that have approached me so you might find me by your table more often than this once.”

 

And so the pair ate their meals together a few times after that. Though, they didn’t click as well as she and MG did. Speaking of MG, Penelope had thought about asking him about Josie’s possible food restrictions. However, she had a feeling he would spill the beans to Josie and on top of that, she did not want anyone to find out that she was cooking and baking for her date with Josie. She didn’t consider herself one for grand gestures or to be the romantic type and she certainly did not need that kind of reputation.

 

She actually never even did things like this before. Granted she had only dated one person before Josie and she wasn’t really in love with the girl. Still, it was strange to her that she was doing all of this just for a girl. Then again, Josie didn’t feel like  _ just _ a girl. There was something about Josie that made Penelope act irrationally and it was scary given that they had known each other for barely two weeks.

 

Either way, she figured out that Josie had no allergies so there were no risks of her dying because of something Penelope cooked. She actually had to ask Hope about Josie’s possible allergies and thankfully even after figuring out her plan, she only teased Penelope about it once.

 

Just as she was about to check her phone to make sure she was on schedule, she passed by her mirror and decided to make sure she looked decent. She didn’t want this to be super formal. They were just having supper in her room after all. So, she opted for black jeans, a white t-shirt and a beige cardigan over.

 

Suddenly, she heard a notification from her phone and the sound was distinct from any other notifications. It was something from her younger sister. She hurried to her phone and read the text message.

 

**baby thea** : pen, i know you said you were busy tonight, but could you just video chat just for 5 minutes pls?

 

**penelope the best big sis ever** : what happened???

 

**baby thea** : dad came back from massachusetts like he usually does every month but he’s fighting with mama and i’m scared

 

Penelope cursed under her breath. It was often like this. Every time her father came back to New York, he and her step-mother would argue and magic was sometimes involved if things got too heated. It was never inflicted upon her step-mother, Thea or herself, but the fear that it would wasn’t unfounded.

 

She sighed as she stared at the time. It was 5:57 and Josie was going to arrive any minute now, but Thea needed some reassurance. Penelope knew that Josie had been the one to cancel in the past, but she had always done it in advance and even though both times were because of her sister, Penelope couldn’t help but feel like it was shitty of her to cancel this time for her own family issues.

 

**penelope the best big sis ever** : hold on, give me a few minutes and i’ll start a video call okay?

 

She got outside of her room and started to head over to the twins’ room and came face to face with a very soft looking Josie. She was wearing an oversized grey hoodie paired with old white sneakers and a pair of black leggings.

 

“Hey, I thought I was meeting you at your room?” Josie asked with a bright smile as she saw Penelope.

 

“Yeah about that… I’m really sorry, but we’re going to have to cancel our date.” Penelope felt her heart clench when she saw Josie’s face fall.

 

“Oh… Why?”

 

“It’s just-” Penelope wasn’t ready to delve into her family drama. It was so complicated and she didn’t like it when people pitied her. She was taught to be strong and pity from others did not fit with that. “It’s a long story. Again, I’m sorry, but I really have to go.”

 

She didn’t even let Josie speak and she was speeding back to her room. She felt like a complete asshole and so talking with her sister helped her forget that unpleasant feeling sitting in her gut. She was exactly happy to video chat her sister though since the whole reason she was calling was because she felt scared. After about 30 minutes of Penelope trying to make Thea forget about what was happening in their home in New York by asking her about her day at school, the young girl’s rich brown eyes seemed to exude calmness instead of fear.

 

“Pen,” her sister called her.

 

“Hmm?” Penelope responded with her head resting in her palm while she was laying on her bed with her phone propped on her pillows.

 

“What did you have planned tonight before we video chatted? You said you had something to do tonight when I texted you a few days ago.”

 

“Ah… I sort of had a date.” She said and pressed her lips into a thin line.

 

“You called of your date for me?!” The camera angle was off as Thea seemed to have flipped her tablet over. “What the hell, Penelope?!”

 

“I-”

 

“Call her! Tell her it was a mistake.”

 

“How do you know it’s a ‘her’?” Penelope raised an eyebrow.

 

“Well, is it not a girl?”

 

“No, it’s a girl. I was just wondering how you knew.”

 

“You prefer girls. I know that. And well, I have an idea as to who it might be.” Thea was sporting a smirk Penelope had recognized having sported in the past.

 

“You’ve only been to my school for a few hours and didn’t even meet anyone while you were here.” Penelope chuckled and shook her head.

 

“Wrong, I met two girls.” At her sister’s reply, Penelope tilted her head to the side, a little confused as to who she was talking until it clicked. “It’s the brunette right? Jo-something?”

 

“Josie and how do you even know?” Penelope was truly amused now because she hadn’t uttered a word about Josie to her sister. She wasn’t embarrassed about Josie or anything. It’s just that they hadn’t even been on a date yet and she didn’t want to just gush about her crush on a girl she didn’t talk to that much. That seemed way too typically teenager-y of her to do (even though she was a teenager).

 

“I’m 11, not stupid. Nor am I blind, sis. While the headmaster kept talking to dad, all you did was gape at the girl. You might as well have been drooling.”

 

“Wow your vocabulary has gotten better for a sixth grader. ‘Nor’ and ‘gape’.”

 

“Stop changing the subject.” Thea pouted. “Please tell me you’re going to ask that girl out again!”

 

“This is actually the third time we’ve had to cancel our first date, T. I feel like the universe is telling me I should just let this go.”

 

“Fuck that. You’re saying it’s the third time you’ve tried to have your first date. So, the universe keeps pulling you back to each other, right?”

 

“I don’t think that’s how it works, sweetie. Also, watch your language mama is gonna whoop your ass if she hears you. You have such a potty mouth.”

 

“Who do you think I got my potty mouth from?” Thea grinned. “Now, please go get that girl back. I want a sister-in-law.”

 

“Thea, that involves me getting married.”

 

“So?”

 

“I’m not getting married at 15.”

 

“Fine,  _ future _ sister-in-law.”

 

“You really have an imaginative mind, don’t you?”

 

“Could she actually become my sister-in-law?”

 

“Thea, I’m  _ 15 _ years old. You’re asking me to think about marriage now with a girl I’m not even truly dating yet.”

 

“Well, she was super nice! Plus, she already seems so much better than your ex.”

 

“I’m hanging up because you’re annoying me.”

 

“That’s right. Go ask her out to another date!”

 

Penelope laughed and tapped the red button to end the call. Her sister truly was something. Though their conversation had brought her back to reality. She would still have to deal with Josie because despite having only known for two weeks and only really exchanging through text messages and occasional in-real-life short conversations, Penelope knew Josie wasn’t going to simply let this go. After all, she hadn’t even given her a legitimate reason to call this off.

 

She intended on apologizing to Josie once more and make sure everything was fine between them the next day. She wasn’t expecting the girl to want to have a date with her though since Penelope hadn’t even given her a reason for her cancelling their date.

 

It seemed as though the universe was absolutely against that plan though since not even ten minutes after talking with Thea, there was someone knocking on Penelope’s wooden door. When she slowly made it to the door, curious to see who in the world was searching for her on a Friday evening, she was surprised to see Josie standing there with a slight dip in her eyebrows.

 

She wasn’t going to deal with this tomorrow. She was going to have to deal with this right here, right now.


	3. i'm a crafty woman

“Okay so I wasn’t going to bother you about this, but the least you could do is give me an explanation for calling off our date. I mean I thought you-” Josie stopped herself, as if battling with herself to choose the correct words. “You’re the one who asked me out and we rescheduled our date twice so I thought you wanted this to happen. But then I have doubts about whether you’re just playing because have you met yourself? You enter this school in January and you’re already doing really well in class. You’re also super intimidating and you hang out with MG or Hope fucking Mikaelson, whom I don’t like, but I gotta say she’s cool.” Josie stops for air and glares at Penelope. “Don’t you dare tell her that though. Anyways, no matter how many doubts I have, you send me goodnight and good morning texts and I forget it all. But then you call off our date two minutes before our date! So, tell me are you just playing with my feelings?”

 

Penelope just stared at Josie. “I had no idea someone could speak that fast.”

 

Josie sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Penelope,” she started and Penelope pulled her into her room, a strange feeling taking over her.

 

She closed the door behind Josie. She took a deep breath while closing her eyes. “I know it was an asshole move for me to pull. I just- I don’t well with opening to people, okay? And I don’t like to talk about my family… but I’m not playing with your feelings, Josie. Well, I’m not trying to at least. I really do want to take you out on a date if you’ll let me. I just had to call off our date because my little sister texted me telling me my father and step-mom were fighting again and she was scared.”

 

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Josie frowned and a pout formed on her lips. “I shouldn’t have lashed out at you like that. You-”

 

“It’s fine, Josie. You didn’t know.” Penelope gave the girl an encouraging smile.

 

“Did you eat yet? Lizzie told me she didn’t see you go down to the dining hall.”

 

“No, I haven’t yet, but what do you mean Lizzie told you?”

 

“I didn’t really feel like eating.”

 

“Well, that’s no good.”

 

Josie shrugged. “I wasn’t really in the mood.”

 

“There’s a mood in which you have to be to eat?” Penelope raised an eyebrow.

 

Josie smiled. “No, you know what I mean.”

 

“Not really, but actually if you haven’t eaten yet, the meal I prepared is still untouched. It’s kinda cold but I could heat it up.”

 

“You what?” Josie’s eyes scanned the room and landed on a coffee table between a couch and a beanbag where there were two plates covered by a bowl each and there were two trays covered as well. “We weren’t just going to bring food up from the kitchen?”

 

“I don’t know where you got that idea because I literally did not even say that.” Penelope shook her head as she followed Josie towards the couch her father had bought her as a parting gift and the beanbag her sister had given her (it was her father who paid for it, but Thea claimed it was a gift from her).

 

“Well, I didn’t know you cooked! Nor would I have expected you to cook for me,” countered Josie as she sat on the end of the couch. As Penelope was about to sit on the beanbag, Josie grabbed her wrist. “Sit next to me?” So she did.

 

“I made us vegan pasta because I wasn’t sure if you had any dietary limitations and I made some red velvet cupcakes and vegan brownies again in case you were a vegan,” explained Penelope as she uncovered the dishes.

 

She stood back up, went over to the cabinet next to her dresser and pulled out two large empty cans that both were party cut open, a cutting board and two candles that were a little smaller in circumference than the cans. As she down the cans on the cutting board, she saw Josie watching in awe and also confusion.

 

“I just want to say you didn’t have to cook or bake for me because I really would’ve been fine if we had just gotten dinner from the kitchen, but also what the hell are you doing?”

 

“I’m reheating our supper,” she explained simply as if that made any sense. She put a candle in each can and said, “ _ phasmastos incendia _ .”

 

Flames appeared and Penelope placed a plate on top of each can. Josie was even more surprised now and Penelope sat back next to Josie who then shifted closer. Penelope shifted again so that Josie sat in her embrace. “I’m a crafty woman,” Penelope said and chuckled.

 

“Yeah, I can see that.” Josie laughed and rested her head on Penelope’s shoulder.

 

It didn’t take that long to heat up their meal. It probably would’ve been faster to just go downstairs and use the microwave and they also weren’t supposed to use magic outside of class, but Penelope just wanted to stay in her room with Josie in her arms so she couldn’t care less about the time this was taking or school regulations.

 

“Where did you even learn to do all this?” Josie asked after they finished their meal and were just cuddling on the couch.

 

“The cooking and baking, the fire spell, or the cans being used as a cooking device?” Penelope asked, amused. Josie took a moment to think before deciding she wanted to know all of it. So, she told her all about it. She had learned how to cook and bake with her step-mother.

 

“She’s the woman who was there on the day I came here. My mother passed away when I was a few months old so I don’t even remember her. She was a witch and died in a car crash. My father met my step-mother when I was almost 2 years old. I don’t have any memories of my biological mother, but I’ll always love her. With that being said, my step-mother is the only mother figure I’ve ever had in my life and I consider her as my legitimate mother.”

 

Penelope told her about how her father wasn’t that great of a father growing up. He was the leader of a witch coven in Massachusetts where Penelope was born. After he met her step-mother, they moved to New York where she would grow up with her half-sister.

 

“My father stayed in Massachusetts most of the time though because that’s where our coven is based. He goes back to New York for a week once every month. He moved us to New York because he doesn’t want us to get hurt, what with my step-mother and sister being human and all… well I don’t know if Thea is actually human, but she hasn’t displayed any signs of having magic up until now.”

 

So, with him being away so much, Penelope spent a lot time with her step-mother and half-sister. Her step-mother would cook and bake all the time because she worked as a chef and would experiment with recipes. Penelope was quite curious and ended up helping her a lot. So, she started to cook and bake herself. It was a thing she enjoyed doing with her family and produced some of the happiest moments in her life.

 

She learned that Josie also lost her biological mom. Except her story was a little more complex than Penelope’s. “So, the witches in my coven basically magically transferred me in my birth mother/the woman I consider my mom’s womb and my biological mom got stabbed to death by her psycho twin brother,” Josie explained nonchalantly.

 

“Well, that’s… special.”

 

“Yeah, it’s pretty fucked up, but we haven’t heard of our coven in a while so everything should be fine. Now, tell me about the other stuff.”

 

“Are you actually interested?” Penelope asked. “Because I actually had a more interesting idea in mind for our date.”

 

“Yeah, I wanna know more about you, but what’s the other idea you had in mind? FYI if it involves us moving from the couch, I’m not sure I’m down.”

 

Penelope laughed and shook her head. “I guess we could stay here actually.” With that being said, she put one hand out, pointed to the ceiling so Josie’s eyes would follow and soon enough, instead of a dull ceiling, they were now looking at a sky full of stars.

 

“How did you-”

 

“Magic,” Penelope answered with a smirk.

 

“You are way cheesier than you let on, you know that?”

 

“Don’t tell anyone.” She winked and continued her story about how she learned the fire spell and the can trick which really wasn’t that interesting. Her father might not have been the best father in the world, but he still taught her some things regarding spells and also some survival skills. “We actually went camping once and that was the main reason he taught me that spell. Something about how I could survive in case I got lost or something and he also taught me to use cans as a burner for the same reason. I can also make a candle with oil, a jar, a nail and yarn or twine.”

 

“I didn’t know I was dating some sort of lumberjack.”

 

“I’m not a lumberjack! I’m just, as I said earlier, a crafty woman.” Penelope grinned.

 

“And your craftiness has allowed us to have the best first date even though my dad won’t let me leave school grounds.” Josie grinned at looked up at Penelope who smiled back at her.

 

“Only for the best.”

 

They cuddled in comfortable silence for the rest of the night and eventually fell asleep on the couch. As much as they enjoyed laying together, it did marvellous things to hurt their backs the next morning. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the pain in her back that woke Josie up. It was a pinching she felt  _ inside _ her head.

 

She groaned and sat up, waking Penelope in the process. “Sorry,” she whispered and kissed her temple. “I think Lizzie is worrying about me. God, my head actually hurts, I can’t imagine what the hell she’s thinking.”

 

“So twin telepathy actually works?” Penelope asked as she sat up and removed herself from Josie.

 

“A little I guess. I can feel her pain more than anything really.”

 

“Well you better go back before she full on has a migraine or something.”

 

“She’ll survive. She doesn’t need me by her side all the time anyways. Though, I should hurry because if she worries too much and goes to our dad, you might get in trouble.” Josie started to stretch quickly and arranged herself in the mirror so she could look decent when leaving. “Before I leave though, I wanted to know if you could make it to Lizzie and I’s 15th birthday. It’s in about a month, but I feel like I’ll forget to ask you later.”

 

“You could actually forget your birthday?”

 

“I don’t know I’m kinda forgetful sometimes.” Josie smiled sheepishly.

 

“Alright, well I’ll be at your party.”

 

“Awesome! I’ll see you later.” Josie pressed a quick kiss to Penelope’s cheek. Just as she started to leave, Penelope pulled her back with a smirk on her face. “What? Do I have something on my face?”

 

“You really are forgetful, Josie,” she said and Josie still had no idea what she was talking about. She then let a very confused Josie go, only to whisper in her ear “Happy Valentine’s Day, dummy” later in one of the classes they had together.

 

Being the organized person she was, Penelope actually planned on getting roses for Valentine’s Day the second time their first date was supposed to take place. So, on Valentine’s Day, she was informed by the school that she had a package to her name and was able to hand Josie her bouquet.

 

“Still not going to sit with your girlfriend to eat lunch even after the stunt you just pulled?” MG asked Penelope as he watched his friend smile at the brunette gushing about her flowers to her sister.

 

“Unless you decide to finally confess your undying love for Lizzie, she is most likely not going to get a bouquet of roses so I’ll let her have Josie for now.” Penelope sat back and finally started to eat her lunch after smiling like an idiot at the girl who had occupied her brain for the past weeks.

 

“First of all, how did you know about my,” MG lowered his voice, “feelings. Second of all, it’s official between you two now?”

 

“First of all, it’s written all over your face that you’re in love with her. I don’t get it, but you do you. Second of all, I don’t get what you mean.”

 

“I called Josie your girlfriend and you didn’t deny it.”

 

“Oh. No, we’re not official. I mean we just had our first date last night. It’s pretty soon to ask her to be my girlfriend.”

 

“But you plan on asking her out.”

 

“Well, yeah. Have you met the girl? She’s like the most dangerous mix of adorable and hot. I know you don’t get along, but I mean come on you spend a few minutes with her and you want to give her the moon,” Penelope sighed.

 

“You are  _ so _ whipped and  _ such _ a romantic even though you insist you aren’t.” MG snickered.

 

Penelope didn’t get to ask Josie to be her girlfriend though. It wasn’t like she had an idea of when and where she was going to ask her to make things official. She just didn’t think there was ever a good moment to ask and she wanted to make it memorable, not just a few words blurted out of nowhere. Having Josie ask her to be her girlfriend while they were hiding under a staircase certainly wasn’t she had in mind though.

 

They were doing some volunteering and were taking care of the younger kids of the school. It was play time for the kids and they decided on playing a big game of hide and seek in one wing of the school. It was implied that they could only hide on the one floor they were playing, but nobody said anything about the stairwells being out of bounds.

 

So, Josie found herself resting her head on Penelope’s shoulder while they sat together under the stairs. Penelope’s fingers found their way to Josie’s brown locks and they started to play with her hair. It was then that Josie pushed herself off Penelope’s shoulder and looked into her eyes as she asked, “Penelope, will you be my girlfriend?”

 

Penelope stared at her for a moment which cause Josie to panic a little. “If you don’t want to it’s fine! I just wanted to know because I mean we’ve been having a date every week and we’ve been hanging out a lot too so I thought-”

 

“Josie, yes.” Penelope answered with a smile

 

“Yes?” Josie’s eyes lit up, even more than usual (if that was even possible).

 

“Yeah,” said Penelope as she started to stare at Josie’s lips. They hadn’t kissed yet, in the few weeks since Josie accepted to go on a date with Penelope. They had come close to kissing a few times and God, Penelope had wanted to kiss the girl so many times, but there was always something that stopped them before their lips actually touched. And if there was kid who was to come find them before she was able to reach Josie’s lips, she might actually cry.

 

Luckily for them, nothing like that happened.

 

No, it was amazing. Josie noticed Penelope’s eyes flutter down to her lips so she started to lean in. Both of their hearts were beating furiously fast. A vampire from across campus could probably hear them. Right before their lips touched, Penelope whispered, “you sure?”

 

“Yeah,” Josie replied in the softest tone she’d ever used.

 

Like that, Josie’s soft lips met Penelope’s and it was magical, how good it felt. It started out soft and slow, but then things started to get more heated and intense. Josie shifted smoothly to get closer to her girlfriend.  _ Oh God, she’s my  _ girlfriend. With that thought in mind, Josie pulled away and bit her lip as she smiled at Penelope. At least, the kid found them after their kiss happened.

 

After the first kiss though, it was as if they couldn’t lay their hands off each other. Every chance she got, Penelope would sneak a quick kiss which would then leave Josie a little breathless. Penelope wasn’t the only one who would steal a kiss from her girlfriend. On occasions where they weren’t eating together, Josie would purposefully make a detour towards Penelope’s table where she sat with Hope so that she could pull at Penelope’s collar and plant a kiss on her lips.

 

It wasn’t just the kissing that intensified. It was also the warm feeling of being able to call each other “girlfriend”. MG had thought it was quite endearing to see his friends being in love and both gushing about their girlfriend every chance she got. Hope, on the other hand, thought it was a little gross.

 

“Can you stop talking about them?” Hope grimaced.

 

“Oh please, stop acting like you have a heart of stone.”

 

“You mean stop acting like you?”

 

“Exactly.”

 

Hope and Penelope still didn’t consider each other as friends and neither expected to become super close any time soon. However, it didn’t stop Hope from being genuinely happy that Penelope didn’t have as much trouble as she did to get along with the Saltzman twins (well one half of them at least).


	4. i love you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: very lowkey smut ish, not actual smut but um yeah
> 
> and yes lizzie is annoying right now, but that's just because it's pre-legacies and she needs development, which i'm sure we'll get in the later seasons of legacies.

“Happy birthday, witches!” Penelope joined the twins at their table with a cupcake in each hand and a smug smile on her face.

 

“Hey,” Josie grinned and grabbed one of the cupcakes to put it down and place a gentle kiss on Penelope’s lips as she wrapped her arms around her. However, she couldn’t get as close to her as she would’ve liked since Penelope had a large basket in each hand.

 

“I made you guys some baked goods since I wasn’t really sure what to get you two,” Penelope explained as she handed them the twine baskets filled to the brim with cupcakes, brownies, macarons, cookies and a few different pastry treats. “I also have another gift for you, but I’ll tell you what it is later,” she told Josie.

 

The rest of the night, Lizzie kept asking Josie to accompany her and talk to the other guests at the party, but all Josie wanted to do was stay with Penelope and keep asking her what her other gift was. “You’re so impatient,” Penelope noted and chuckled. Josie pouted, but it didn’t succeed in making Penelope reveal what the surprise was. “You sure you want to just stay seated with me though? I mean it’s your 15th birthday party so I just hope you’re enjoying it.”

 

“With you by my side, I don’t see why this would be a bad birthday.” Josie winked playfully.

 

“So, you’re the smooth talker now, huh?” Penelope laughed and threw her head back. “As long as your birthday is better than my 15th birthday, we should be fine.”

 

“What happened on your birthday?” Josie quirked an eyebrow.

 

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s kind of depressing  and it’s related to my ex anyways, not a topic for such a happy moment.”

 

“I don’t mind if it’s about your ex. I just want to know more about you.” Josie’s smile was so gentle and sweet, how could she resist her?

 

So, Penelope told her about her ex. She was her first girlfriend and the first person she had ever dated as a matter of fact. She was older than Penelope by a little over a year, but they had known each other since they were kids because they lived in the same neighbourhood. Penelope was two weeks from starting her freshman year at her old high school when the girl asked her out. She was a vampire so they were to connect in ways others wouldn’t understand. They both hid their little secret identities and their friendship lead to them dating.

 

Penelope had always liked the girl more than her ex liked her back if she was being frank. That theory was proven right when on the day of her 15th birthday, her ex showed up at her locker to break up with her, having completely forgotten what day it was.

 

“What a bitch,” Josie spat out.

 

“Easy there, tiger.” Penelope rubbed her hand on Josie’s arm. “It hurt back then, but we hadn’t even been together for three months yet. I was more angry than sad and I keyed her new car with my friend.” Her ex was old money so it wasn’t like it actually mattered and when she found out she had dumped Penelope on her birthday, she felt too bad to report the crime to the authorities.

 

“Why did she even dump you?” Josie asked, clearly shocked someone would ever do such a thing.

 

“We weren’t in love.” Penelope really didn’t have any resentment towards her ex anymore. As much as she was upset at the time, it made sense and she was happier now. “We didn’t have any business dating and she fell in love with someone, a girl who wasn’t me.”

 

“Clearly her lost.” Josie shook her head.

 

“Well, if we hadn’t broken up, I might not have been able to have the honour of being your girlfriend or of asking you if you’d like to have this dance.” Penelope stood up and extended her hand towards Josie.

 

The couple found themselves on the dance floor, slow dancing to a song chosen by the DJ. “You look gorgeous, by the way,” Penelope said softly as Josie pressed her head to hers.

 

Josie pulled back and her eyes twinkled. “Thanks. This birthday really has been great.”

 

“Even after I talked about my ex?” Penelope snickered as she earned herself a shove from Josie.

 

“It was worth it. I got to know more about your past and I could listen to you talk all day.”

 

Penelope leaned in to kiss her, but one kiss turned into making out and they soon had to leave the dance floor. Penelope knew Josie wasn’t the biggest fan of PDA so she pulled her away out in the hallway to continue making out.

 

Josie was the one who suggested they go to Penelope’s room though. And that was exactly what they did. They were only making out for a while until the older girl felt Josie’s hands reach upwards, as if searching for something. Her fingers stopped at the zipper of Penelope’s black dress which prompted the girl to pull away and look into Josie’s eyes.

 

The latter started to blush. She looked down and bit her lip. “Sorry,” she said and let out a chuckle.

 

“No need to apologize. I just wanna make sure you’re doing this because you want to.” Penelope put a finger under Josie’s chin so their eyes could meet. “We can do whatever you want, birthday girl.” She smirked and winked when she noticed Josie blush harder.

 

After a moment, Josie looked back up at her girlfriend. “Then, I want this,” she said while staring at Penelope’s swollen lips.

 

“You sure?” Penelope asked as she leaned in again, stopping less than an inch away from Josie.

 

“Never been so sure,” she replied and closed the distance. “I’ve never done this though. Not with a girl, not with anyone.”

 

“It’s okay. I haven’t either. We’ll just have to figure it out.”

 

They did figure it out in the end, and that more than once. It was kind of awkward at first though. They didn’t exactly teach this at school and anything online wasn’t really accurate. So, they started gentle and of course, Josie got to feel good first. She was the birthday girl after all.

 

Josie didn’t know what to expect, but after feeling like  _ that _ once Penelope came back up, she was sure this she didn’t want this to be a one-time thing. They didn’t just figure out what Josie liked. They also learned that Josie’s hands weren’t just talented in syphoning magic. They were magical in every sense of the word and made Penelope’s eyes roll back in pleasure.

 

No need to say that Josie did not return to her room that night. They both didn’t get much sleep, but Penelope managed to wake up at a decent time to be able to go grab breakfast downstairs for the both of them. Bringing up two plates full, a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee wasn’t exactly an easy task though.

 

“Need help with that?”

 

Penelope looked over and saw Hope watching her, amused by the whole scene. She rolled her eyes because she wanted to wipe the smug look Hope had, but then sighed. “Yeah, actually I do.”

 

“You better not tell Josie I helped you do this, though.”

 

“How-”

 

“You don’t ever do anything nice for people in this school, with the exception of Josie Saltzman. You practically melt when you’re around her.” Hope explained as she grabbed one of the plates and the glass of juice.

 

“I do  _ not _ melt around anyone,” Penelope countered, even though she knew the older girl had a point.

 

“Right,” she said, not believing a word coming out of Penelope’s mouth.

 

“Anyways, I think Josie would burn me if she found out you actually helped me bring food.”

 

Hope nodded in agreement. “You should get a tray next time.”

 

“I don’t get why you hate them so much. I mean I get Lizzie because God she can be annoying. Josie though…”

 

“I don’t  _ hate _ them. We just don’t get along and I mean you’re one to talk.  _ We’re _ not friends.”

 

“Yeah, but we talk normally.” Hope raised an eyebrow. “We  _ do _ , most of the time. Hell, I even eat with you sometimes.”

 

“That’s only when MG isn’t around and because you find the other witches too clique-y for your taste.”

 

“That’s because they  _ are _ clique-y.”

 

“Why don’t you eat with your girlfriend, then? Pretty sure she’d prefer that over you eating with me.”

 

“You seem lonely and please, I would have to stuff my ears with wax if I were to survive a whole lunch with Lizzie.”

 

Hope had to laugh at that one. “So, the cold-hearted bitch’s heart isn’t actually made of stone.”

 

As soon as they reached Penelope’s room though, Hope almost disappeared. She placed the plate and cup carefully on the ground and walked away in case she’d have to accidentally face Josie and start an argument. It was a shame really. She truly thought Hope would make a decent friend if she wasn’t as closed off, which was kind of ironic since she, herself, didn’t open up often to newcomers. Still, she believed that Hope and her could become friends somewhere down the line and if they did, she would make it her duty to make Josie and Hope civil with each other. Now that she thought about it though, she never even really knew why there was a Cold War between the twins and Hope.

 

Penelope threw that thought away once she saw a very distressed looking Josie in her room, sitting in bed and frowning at the bed until she spotted a familiar brunette by the door. “You okay?” Penelope asked, a little confused, but also charmed by how cute Josie looked at the moment.

 

“Yeah.” Josie let out a breath of relief. “I just thought you left me here and weren’t coming back.” That confused Penelope even more.

 

“Wait did you think I was dating you just to get you in bed?” She asked, flabbergasted. At that, the girl in the bed just shrugged. Penelope, in turn, quickly put their breakfast on her coffee table and closed the door. “Why the hell would I do that to the girl I love?” She said, without really thinking about the words she was using. It only hit her when Josie’s eyes grew and so did hers.

 

Although she wasn’t exactly planning of when to tell Josie that she loved her, she did not think it would be the morning after the first time they slept together. With that being said, she did not regret saying it one bit because she did, in fact, love her. She walked closer to Josie, sitting down and grabbing both of the other girl’s hands while she looked into her warm brown eyes.

 

“I love you, Josie. This isn’t some game to me. You are one of the greatest people I have ever met and you deserve the entire world. I am so lucky to be able to even hold a piece of your big heart. I hope you know how grateful I am that I get to call you my girlfriend.” Penelope admitted with a smile on her face.

 

Josie scooted forward and crashed their lips together, only to pull away to say (a little out of breath), “I love you too, Penelope and you have no idea how amazed I am that I even get to spend time with you, let alone being able to present you to others as my girlfriend.”

 

Their lips met again after that, but they had to pull away soon after as both of their stomachs made their demands heard in need of food. Both giggled and started to head to the couch. It was then that Penelope realized Josie had grabbed one of her hoodies and was only wearing that paired with a pair of panties.

 

“You look cute in my sweater,” she noted as she ate a strawberry.

 

Josie looked down and grinned. “Should I steal it from you?”

 

“It wouldn’t be the first thing you stole from me,” Penelope said simply.

 

“I will hit you if you say I stole your heart.”

 

“Ah, it seems as you’ve started to learn my lines.” She snapped her fingers and shook her head.

 

“They never worked on me anyways.”

 

“Oh, I beg to differ.”

 

“What made you fall for me then?” She tilted her head, a little curious as to what exactly made Josie agree to going out with her in the first place.

 

It was her confidence and nonchalance, but also her determination. Penelope could be described as headstrong, but Josie prefered to see it as boldness. She was not afraid of challenges, liked them even and if she thought something was wrong, she would be the first one to speak up or act upon it. That did not mean she was a lawfully good person. Some saw her as a selfish person and Josie could see that from time to time, but who didn’t have flaws? Still, even when things didn’t go as she would have wished, Penelope wouldn’t fuss too much over it.

 

“I hate that I don’t always know how you feel though,” Josie said in a small voice and then looked up. “I just… Sometimes when you’re upset, I want to help you feel better so bad, but you never actually tell me what’s wrong. I know it’s difficult for you to do so, but a selfish part of me just yearns for you to open up and spill everything you’re feeling so I can be there for you.”

 

Penelope understood exactly what her girlfriend was saying. “It’s okay to be selfish sometime, Josie. Especially when you are probably the most selfless person I have ever met… God this morning was supposed to be a happy morning. We’ve made this into an emotional one instead.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Josie said and bit her lip.

 

“Nothing to apologize for, babe.” Penelope cupped Josie’s face and laid a gentle kiss on those soft lips of hers. “Plus, it was most likely going to get ruined once I had to face Lizzie.”

 

Josie sighed. “What is with you two? I really don’t get why you dislike one another so much.”

 

“I could ask the same about you two and Hope.” Deflecting was easier for Penelope than confronting an issue when it involved her feelings.

 

“That’s… different. Hope and us, we’ve never really liked each other and it was always kind of complicated. I wouldn’t even know where to start. You can Lizzie, on the other hand, I don’t see any reason for any ill feelings towards one another. And anyways, it wasn’t like you and Hope were best friends either.”

 

“At least I don’t feel the need to glare at her whenever I see her,” Penelope countered.

 

“Yeah, I can tell since you sometimes eat with her.”

 

“Does that bother you?” Penelope asked because she didn’t think it would such a big deal, given that they didn’t even eat together that often.

 

“It’s just that you choose to eat with her when MG isn’t around when I’m also there. Not to mention, there are also a lot of other witches to befriend.”

 

She nodded. “I don’t really like the other witches, but if it bothers you, then I can try and find some that I find less annoying I guess.”

 

“No, I don’t want you to change for me, Penelope.” Josie sighed.

 

“You are right though. I don’t have that many witch friends at this school and it would be good for me to befriend some other people that understand my struggles as a witch.”

 

“You could also join Lizzie and I, you know? Or do you dislike Lizzie so much you can’t even be with her when I’m also there?”

 

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Can we not talk about this right now?”

 

“Well, she’s my sister. You’ll have to get along one day or another. I don’t want to have to choose between you two.”

 

“I know… I just don’t want to talk about this now.” Penelope frowned and had her jaw clench, which Josie noticed.

 

It was the main reason for her to stop pushing. She hated it when Penelope was upset. So, she decided to change the subject, a smile appearing when she remembered a secret Penelope had kept from her. “So, you mentioned last night that you had another surprise for me besides the humongous amount of food you made. You still haven’t told me what it was and I believe I have been patient enough to get an answer.”

 

That seemed to have eased the older girl a little. “Oh yeah, well,” she started and shifted to sit more properly. “Remember how for the past few dates, we’ve only been able to hang on campus? I talked to your dad a few days ago and managed to convince to let us have one date outside the gates.”

 

Josie could almost squeal at the revelation. Her father was so protective of her and Lizzie and while she understood the reason behind his worry, she wished she could just live a normal life and be able to do things like go on dates around town with the person she loved.

 

“There is one condition, though.” Penelope then added and looked at her hands. “And I honestly don’t even know why I agreed to it because it could ultimately lead to our date being cancelled.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“I may or may not have to have supper with you and him so that he could ‘see what my intentions are’ and if he is satisfied and trusts me, we can leave school grounds for our date. If not, we’ll have to continue our relationship within school property.”

 

Josie was incredibly touched by the gesture. “You went to see  _ my _ dad to talk him into letting us out of here and then agreed to meet him as my girlfriend?” Stunned was an understatement to describe the state she was in. “You really are something Penelope Park.”

 

“Anything for the girl I love.” She winked.

 

“Lizzie is going to kill me though. She has always dreamed of being able to go on a date outside of school. I don’t know how I’ll tell her that we’re going to be able to do that.” That sentence prompted Penelope to roll her eyes and groan.

 

Josie didn’t have time to react because her phone rang. It was Lizzie. “Of course,” muttered Penelope, even though in a way she was thankful she didn’t have to delve into another Lizzie conversation. She knew Josie would push for the ‘why do you hate Lizzie’ question and she really didn’t have the heart to reveal the actual reason the blonde twin annoyed her to the core.

 

“I have to go,” Josie said and went towards Penelope’s closet after the latter told her she could borrow a pair of sweatpants since she probably didn’t want to walk back to her room in her dress from last night or in panties only. “Thank you so much for making the date happen. I really look forward to it and you don’t have to worry about supper with my dad. I’m sure he’ll love you the same way as I do… well, not exactly like I do, but close.”

 

Josie kissed Penelope goodbye so quickly, she didn’t notice the annoyance that was showing just a little under the mask she had put on after Josie’s sweet words had escaped her lips. The reason behind Penelope’s displeasure was not only because Josie had just mentioned her twin sister being mad that Josie would be able to go on a date off campus. It was also because Josie’s reason to her leaving prematurely was that Lizzie was upset she had spent so much time with Penelope the previous night. Apparently, she had wished Josie had stuck more by her side since it was both of their birthdays and she needed her wingwoman.

 

As Josie closed the door behind her, Penelope couldn’t help but feel frustrated and bothered by Lizzie again. When the two had first met, they had started off on the wrong foot. Penelope didn’t blame Lizzie for being protective over Josie at first since she  _ had _ given a bad first impression. However, she had tried to win Lizzie over after having established that what Josie and she had wasn’t just a fling.

 

Despite wanting to be on Lizzie’s good side, she irritated Penelope more than anything. It started when the blonde would interrupt their study dates because she absolutely needed to talk to Josie. Then, it continued and Josie would have to stop their actual dates midway because Lizzie was upset. Sometimes, Josie would altogether have to cancel their hangouts because she felt like her sister was having a bad week.

 

She found it admirable that Josie cared so much about others, she truly did, but sometimes it was too much. Josie never had time for herself. She never put herself first and Penelope wished she could just tell her that instead of feeling like she couldn’t do so without hurting her. If she was being honest, she coudn’t see how the conversation could end positively.


	5. if you say we’re going to study each other’s bodies, i might just slap you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm back! sorry for the delay. i was a little busier than i thought i'd be and i also started to write an au on twitter lmao which, if you're interested, can be found here: https://twitter.com/posieful/status/1077357979576557568

The dinner with Ric wouldn’t take place until nearly three months later. After the birthday celebration, Josie and Penelope had been much more focused on their school work and Ric had been busy with managing various things in the school. So, they had to put it off for a while.

 

In the meantime, the couple’s relationship had followed the spring rhythm and bloomed. Penelope had followed Josie’s suggestions of befriending more witches and eventually, she had found some people she didn’t completely find annoying. On the Lizzie side of things, they also improved a little. Penelope still felt the urge to roll her eyes at everything Lizzie said, but she could tolerate lunch with her now.

 

Sometimes she felt like throwing it all away though. Especially when Josie would come to her at night and cry in her arms because she felt too tired of everything. “Josie, you always put everyone before you. You need to take care of yourself too,” Penelope had tried to reason with her, but all in vain. The next day, Josie would pretend everything was fine.

 

Still, Penelope stuck by her side and tried her best to comfort the other girl. She would whisper sweet words in her ear, hoping to soothe the crying girl. Even though Josie never told her the specific reasons behind her tears, Penelope had a clue that Lizzie had her part in all of this, not always, but most of the time.

 

Tonight, she didn’t have time to be bothered by the other Saltzman twin. Her mind was clouded by the patriarch of the Saltzman family. Him and the supper she was going to have with him and Josie in a few days. The remedy to her stress was of course her little sister and it took less than three rings for Thea to answer her video call.

 

“What’s up, P?” Thea had on a bright smile as she usually did. She and Josie were the sun in Penelope’s life. She could not imagine a world without them in it.

 

“Thea, what if he hates me?” Penelope wasted no time in putting her worries out there. She hated beating around the bush anyways and Thea was one of the only people she felt comfortable with enough (most of the time) to reveal her true feelings.

 

“Him? I thought you were dating Josie?” Thea frowned and then sat up straight, contrasting her previously laying down. “Did you break up with her?! Why?! She was so nice! I mean I didn’t really know her, but there wasn’t anything wrong from the things you told me-”

 

“I didn’t break up with Josie! I’m talking about her dad. I’m meeting him, remember?”

 

“Oh, yeah.” Thea chortled. “I still can’t believe you put yourself in that mess. I thought you were meeting him later this week, though.”

 

“I am.”

 

“So, why are you calling me now? I thought you’d call me the night of, you know? When the nerves get to you and all.”

 

“I’m already nervous now.” She groaned and stuffed her face in a pillow.

 

“Look, I may only be 11, turning 12 in a few days,” the preteend said with a wink, “but I know nobody could hate you. If they get to know you, they’ll see how caring of a person you are.”

 

“You’re biased, T.”

 

“I am not. I simply know you best.” She said proudly. “I _know_ my big sister is the best person I know. I _know_ she has one of the biggest hearts, even when she pretends she’s a bitch.”

 

“That sounds like being biased to me, little sis. Also, I do not pretend I am a bitch. I am a bitch.” Penelope had given up on changing her little sister’s potty mouth. She had a sailor's mouth and so did her father. It was a given that Thea would too at some point in her life.

 

“You are like the biggest softie I know.” Thea blew kisses at the screen when Penelope looked at her, unamused while she clicked her tongue. “Listen, I am serious. I am sure you will make a good impression on him. You always say the right thing. Plus, you told me that you’re like Josie’s first real relationship right? So, he most likely doesn’t have anyone else to compare you to.”

 

Penelope nodded. “Have I told you how much of a genius you are?” Thea really was smart for her age.

 

“Not lately, but I already knew that.” Thea flipped her hair which made Penelope laugh.

 

“God, I miss you so much,” she said and sighed loudly. “I just want to hug my baby sister.”

 

“I’m not a baby! I’m turning 12 in a few days.”

 

“My baby sister’s growing up so fast.” Penelope said dramatically. “You’re coming to visit me on your birthday, right?”

 

“Yep! Mama said she and dad booked the flight and the hotel room where we’d stay for the weekend.”

 

“Dad is coming?” Penelope did not believe one second her father would show up. He never had time for them.

 

“He said he would.”

 

“Thea…” She said carefully, trying to warn her sister about possible disappointment (that would ooze not only out of her little sister, but her too). She did miss her father, as much as she did not want to admit it. However, she doubted she’d get to see him during the weekend. It always felt like his coven came before everything else.

 

“I know, Penelope. I won’t get my hopes up.” She bit her lip and looked down. “But he said he would come, so…”

 

Before either of them got to say something else, Penelope heard someone knock on her door. She told Thea to wait a second so she could go check who it was. She was pleasantly surprised by Josie standing in front of her with a textbook, a notebook and a pencil case in her arms. Her smile faltered when she realized Penelope had forgotten about their study date.

 

“Oh, shit.” Penelope hit her head when she realized they had planned to study together that night (actually study this time). They had a big exam for the Chemistry of Magic class in two days. She had been so busy stressing over meeting Ric, it completely slipped through her mind.

 

She also seemed to have forgotten Thea was still waiting for her to come back to her phone. Penelope welcomed Josie in her room and headed towards her phone to tell her sister she’d have to leave to study for her exam.

 

“Hold on, is that your little sister?” Josie asked and pointed at her phone. Penelope nodded and turned the screen towards her girlfriend who started to wave at the almost 12 year-old. She then introduced Thea to Josie and Josie to Thea.

 

“Your sister forgot we had a study date,” Josie explained to the younger girl.

 

“A study date?” Thea raised her brows and looked at Penelope who was sitting very close to Josie so they could both be seen on screen.

 

“We have an _exam_ , Thea. We were actually going to study tonight.”

 

“I’m not stupid. Nobody studies when they have study dates.”

 

“Well, we do.” Penelope deadpanned.

 

“We don’t usually,” Josie said matter-of-factly which resulted in Penelope glaring at her. “What? It’s true. I’m not about to lie to your sister.”

 

“I like her, P. You know you should-”

 

“Okay, I’m gonna have to interrupt you before you say anything dumb. Bye, Thea. See you this weekend.” She said sternly and gave her sister a warning look to shut her mouth.

 

“Fine, go make out with your girlfriend. Bye,” she said and waved at Josie with a smile.

 

“You know, you and your sister are so similar it’s kinda scary,” Josie said once Penelope had put her phone away.

 

“She’s better than me though. Don’t tell her I told you that. She’ll never let that go.” She chuckled and laid back, not wanting to study for their exam.

 

“Well, if you don’t sit back up, I’ll tell her that we didn’t study for our exam.”

 

She groaned. “Studying is boring. Can we just lay down for a while and then study?”

 

Josie rolled her eyes, but still put her books further on the bed. “If we aren’t going to study, then I guess I could give this to you now.”

 

Her words caught Penelope’s attention. She sat up and watched Josie pull a box out of her pocket. She then opened the blue velvet box which revealed a thin silver chain. The pendant Josie had taken out of its box had a diamond shape charm with a hole in the middle hanging from the chain. It looked simple and intricate at the same time, very Penelope.

 

Josie had bought the pendant five years ago when she had reached the double digits. That year, she and Lizzie had received money for their birthday, in addition to another gift from their parents. They had gone shopping after the celebration and while Lizzie was more focused on toys and clothes, Josie had her mind set on other things.

 

She wanted to get something special, as this would be her first ever purchase. So, Caroline stayed with Lizzie to figure what exactly she was going to buy with her $20 bill. Ric followed Josie around the mall to see what she would like to spend her money on.

 

It took about an hour of walking around the multiple floors of the mall for Josie to finally stop at a small shop that sold artisanal crafts. 10-year-old Josie thought the shop was one of the most fascinating things she had ever laid her eyes on. Obviously, she had to go take a look around.

 

That was where she found the pendant. It was a little over her budget if she was being honest, but it was just so beautiful. She had held the pendant in her small hands for a long moment before putting it back on the shelf. Even though she was only a few dollars short, she knew she couldn’t afford it.

 

There wasn’t anything in the store that she wanted though. The pendant was the only thing that seemed to fit Josie’s taste. So, she had to reluctantly tell her father that there was nothing she wanted and that she would simply save the money for later.

 

The lady who ran the shop noticed the dejected looking girl and couldn’t help but ask what was wrong as she started to leave with her father. Ric didn’t know that the reason she had let go of the pendant was because it was a little over her budget. Once he realized what the problem was as she explained the situation, he quickly told her he could help her buy it. It was only a few dollars after all.

 

Josie refused and stood her ground. She claimed she wanted her first purchase to be hers and not her parents. (She hadn’t thought about how she got the money that was currently her possession.) Even as a 10-year-old, Josie had her stubborn moments.

 

The shop owner offered Josie a friend’s price, seeing as the girl really had her mind set on letting this piece of jewellery go due to her being short on money. Ric paid the lady the amount Josie didn’t have afterwards while his daughter was busy staring at her pendant.

 

He didn’t quite understand what was so special about the pendant and Josie hadn’t shared with anyone about its significance either. She also never wore it. She had kept it in the box and opened it from time to time just to marvel at it.

 

“So, what’s special about it?” Penelope asked as Josie went behind her to secure it around her neck.

 

When Josie had noticed the pendant, she had thought it was such a beautiful piece of jewellery. It was so beautiful that she couldn’t imagine herself wearing. She wanted to have it though so that one day she could gift it to someone special.

 

She wanted to gift it to someone who was the definition of beauty, inside and out. She wanted to give it to someone who was the epitome of perfection, who was simply ethereal. Until Josie met Penelope, nobody had ever fit that description in her eyes.

 

Penelope was… well, there weren’t enough words in the universe to describe perfectly how Josie felt about the girl who pretty much owned her heart. When they had first met, Penelope put Josie off. She seemed so cold and distant, not to mention outright rude, seeing as she just did not pay attention while Josie was trying to give her a proper tour of the school.

 

Then, Penelope had to go and make a grand gesture, essentially making a fool out of herself just to ask her out. Months later, Josie still did not know if the grand gesture was something Penelope actually planned on doing or if it was something on the whim, nor did she know if the girl had intended for them to properly date for the months to come.

 

Regardless, nobody had ever made her this happy in the few months they’d spent together. Josie wouldn’t say she knew from the moment she laid her eyes on Penelope that she knew she was “the one”. After all, she did think she was quite rude. However, she could tell Penelope was different. Over time, she learned it was the good kind of different.

 

“The best kind of different,” said Josie with a twinkle in her eyes.

 

“I see you were quite the romantic, even as a child.”

 

“Shut up, this is a romantic moment.” Josie nudged Penelope’s arm and laid back down on the bed.

 

Penelope joined her and held her hands as she stared into her girlfriend’s eyes. “I really like it, thank you.”

 

Josie inched forward to press a kiss on their joined hands. “I hope it makes you feel a little less nervous about meeting my dad in a few days.”

 

“Well, I certainly hadn’t thought about that, but now that you mention it, I’m getting nervous again. I have an idea to make me less nervous though.” She said with a smirk.

 

“Really?” Josie raised an eyebrow. “And here I thought we were going to study.”

 

“Oh, we are.”

 

“If you say we’re going to study each other’s bodies, I might just slap you.”

 

Penelope started to laugh and so did Josie. Needless to say, they didn’t spend much time studying, not for their exam that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come freak out about posie on [twitter](https://twitter.com/NOWTHISISHILLS) or [tumblr](https://okposie.tumblr.com/)


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